Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
1
SYSTEM FOR STORING AND DELIVERING FOOD TRAYS
TECHNICAL FIELD
The technical field relates generally, among other things, to systems for
storing and delivering food
trays.
BACKGROUND
Food trays are commonly used in institutions, such as hospitals and rest
homes, and in a number
of other facilities to serve meals containing various hot and cold food
products. The upper surface
of these food trays is often segmented into a hot food products area on one
side (right or left) and
a cold food products area on the opposite side, and each food products area
may include more than
one individual compartment delimited by ridges or other features provided on
the upper surface of
the food trays. Hot and cold food products are put into corresponding
compaiiments during the
assembly of the food trays, for instance at a food tray assembly station in a
commercial kitchen.
Each food tray can then be loaded by an attendant into a wheeled cart or
trolley so that they can be
stored and eventually transported closer to the persons for which these meals
were prepared, among
other things. The food trays are generally given to these persons only at the
beginning of the
mealtime.
Food tray delivery carts can be designed to provide heat to the hot food
products at the appropriate
time without having to access the food trays, and many different systems have
been suggested over
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the years to implement this approach. In these systems, the interior volume
inside a food tray
delivery cart is generally divided into two zones, namely a hot zone and a
cold zone. The food trays
are inserted into vertically stacked spaces when they are loaded into the
housing from a lateral
opening. Food trays generally have a substantially rectangular shape, and each
food tray is usually
loaded by first inserting one of their long sides into the space at a given
loading level, and by sliding
the food tray sideways until it is entirely inside the housing of the cart.
Each food tray must be
oriented so that their hot and cold food products areas are each placed into
the correct zone.
Some food tray delivery carts can be designed to hold only a single stack of
food trays. Others can
be designed to hold two adjacent stacks of food trays to increase the
capacity, with the food trays
in both stacks sharing the same hot and cold zones. In other words, the hot
food products area on
the food trays of both stacks will be located in the same hot zone, and the
cold food products area
on the food trays of both stacks will be located in the same cold zone.
However, having two stacks
of food trays but only a single lateral opening requires that two food trays
must be inserted at least
some of the loading levels. The second food tray inserted at a given level
will push the first food
tray deeper until it reaches the end position. However, when the meals are
served, reaching the
food tray at the deeper end will often be more difficult, and the risks of
inadvertently touching food
products or surfaces on other food trays are increased when an attendant must
insert a hand well
within the housing to reach a food tray. The design of such a system can also
be challenging,
particularly for the thermal barrier that creates the separation between the
hot and cold zones within
the internal space of the housing. Having lateral openings on opposite sides
can alleviate these
difficulties. It allows, among other things, the food trays of the first stack
to be loaded and retrieved
from one side and the food trays of the second stack to be loaded and
retrieved from the opposite
side.
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The insertion of the food trays inside a cart at the end of a food tray
assembly station being
essentially a manual operation, it is generally desirable that the distance
over which each food tray
is hand-carried by an attendant during the loading process be minimized. This
loading process, for
instance, can involve picking up a food tray from a conveyor, with the food
products already on it,
and then inserting it inside the cart through one of the lateral openings. The
lateral opening through
which food trays are currently being loaded is positioned very close to where
this attendant
performs the loaded process. Hence, a food tray delivery cart having two
opposite lateral openings
is often repositioned at some point so as to bring the opposite lateral
opening at the optimal position
before food trays can be loaded in the second stack. For instance, the food
tray delivery cart can be
pivoted so as to bring the second lateral opening at the optimum position.
This repositioning of the
cart can even be done more than once until the loading process for this cart
is complete and both
lateral doors are closed. The cart can then be moved away to make room for a
next cart.
Now, since the hot and cold zones inside a cart extend from one lateral side
to the other, the
orientation of the food trays to be loaded through a second lateral opening
must be reversed, i.e.,
pivoted over 180 degrees around a vertical axis, compared to the orientation
of the ones that were
loaded through the first lateral opening. For instance, from the standpoint of
the attendant at a
loading workstation, if the hot food products area on the food trays loaded
through the first lateral
opening was on the left-hand side, the hot food products area on the food
trays to be inserted
through the second lateral opening must be on the right-hand side once the
cart is repositioned. If
not, the hot and cold food products areas on the second set of food trays will
be misplaced. This
rule is easy to forget, and it is inherently prone to errors. Unless such
mistake is detected soon
enough when it occurs, the cold food products on the misoriented food trays
will be heated prior
to serving while the hot food products will not. This will most likely result
in food being wasted,
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additional work for the attendants and caretakers, and undesirable delays for
the persons expecting
the meals, among other things.
It is worth mentioning that in general, there are also various other
difficulties and challenges
associated with systems and methods for storing and delivering food trays.
Some of them can be
complicated to solve or to mitigate without creating new issues or drawbacks.
For instance,
improvements made to increase the efficiency of some of the parts could
increase the overall
manufacturing costs far beyond what most buyers are ready to pay for the added
benefits, or they
may result in major inconveniences during cleaning operations because some of
the newly designed
parts are now more difficult to access compared to the previous ones. Many
other situations exist.
There is thus always room for further improvements to overcome or mitigate at
least some of the
difficulties and challenges in this area of technology.
SUMMARY
The proposed concept involves a new approach in the design of systems for
storing and delivering
food trays. This new approach allows, among other things, the orientation of
the food trays to
remain the same regardless of the lateral opening through which they are
loaded. It also suggests a
number of other improvements, advancements and refinements on various
components and aspects,
for instance ones that are related to the manufacturing of the systems, or the
cleaning and
maintenance operations, to name just a few.
Among other things, there is provided a system for storing and delivering
individual food trays,
each food tray having separate hot and cold food products areas on opposite
sides of a transversal
demarcation line, the system including: a housing having two lateral doors to
selectively open and
close a respective one among two opposite lateral openings, the housing
including separate first
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and second chambers, each chamber having an enclosed internal space accessed
through a
respective one of the lateral openings, each chamber including: a tray
supporting arrangement
having a plurality of vertically spaced stacking positions, each stacking
position corresponding to
a stowage space for receiving one of the food trays with the chamber through
the respective lateral
opening; and a vertically extending thermal barrier to divide the enclosed
internal space within the
chamber into separate vertically extending hot and cold food products sections
along the
demarcation line on the food trays; and when viewed from above, the hot food
products section of
the first chamber and the hot food products section of the second chamber are
diametrically
opposite to one another, and the cold food products section of the first
chamber and the cold food
products section of the second chamber are diametrically opposite to one
another.
Details on the different aspects of the proposed concept and the various
possible combinations of
technical characteristics or features will become apparent in light of the
following detailed
description and the appended figures.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
.. FIG. 1 is a front isometric view of an example of a system for storing and
delivering food trays in
which the proposed concept is implemented.
FIG. 2 is a rear isometric view of the system of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2, but where the lateral doors are open.
FIG. 4 is a front isometric view of the system as shown in FIG. 3.
FIG. 5 is a front isometric and partially exploded view of the system of FIG.
1.
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FIG. 6 is a rear isometric view of the system of FIG. 1 where the lateral
doors, the outer panels and
other components were removed for the sake of illustration.
FIG. 7A is a cross-sectional plan view of the housing in the system of FIG. 1.
FIG. 7B is a schematic representation of the internal layout inside the
housing shown in FIG. 7A.
FIG. 8 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the housing in the system of
FIG. 1.
FIG. 9 is a front isometric view illustrating only the bottom base panel and
some of the components
of the air passage arrangement in the system of FIG. 1.
FIG. 10 is a partial and semi-schematic isometric view of an example of one of
the humidifier trays
provided in the system of FIG. 1.
FIG. 11 is an isometric view of one of the thermal barriers provided in the
system of FIG. 1.
FIG. 12 is an exploded view of the thermal barrier shown in FIG. 11.
FIG. 13 is an enlarged and partial cross-sectional view of the thermal barrier
shown in FIG. 11.
FIG. 14 shows the thermal barrier of FIG. 13 with an example of a food tray
inserted therein.
FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional plan view similar to FIG. 7A but also showing
semi-schematically
some of the components of the heating/cooling unit when the system is set in a
food storage
mode.
FIG. 16 is a view similar to FIG. 15 but where the system is now set in a food
heating mode.
FIG. 17 is a first longitudinal cross-sectional view of another example of a
system for storing and
delivering food trays in which the proposed concept is implemented.
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FIG. 18 is a second longitudinal cross-sectional view of the system of FIG.
17, taken from the
opposite side.
FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional plan view of the interior of the system of FIG.
17.
FIG. 20 is a semi-schematic front isometric view of another example of a
system for storing and
delivering food trays.
FIG. 21 is a cross-sectional plan view of the interior of the system of FIG.
20, with the system
being in the food storage mode.
FIG. 22 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view taken along line 22-22 in FIG.
21.
FIG. 23 is a schematic top view of an example of a generic food tray.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
FIG. 1 is a front isometric view of an example of a system 100 for storing and
delivering food trays
in which the proposed concept is implemented. FIG. 2 is a rear isometric view
thereof. This system
is only an example. Other configurations and arrangements are possible.
The system 100 can include a carriage 102, a housing 104 and an onboard
heating/cooling unit 106
mounted onto the carriage 102, as shown for instance in FIGS. 1 and 2. It can
also include other
components. The illustrated system 100 is configured to create a self-
contained food tray delivery
cart 108 where the various devices are integrated or packaged into the same
apparatus. Other
configurations and arrangements are possible. Among other things, the housing
104 and the
heating/cooling unit 106 can be provided separately, the heating/cooling unit
106 being for instance
located in or accessed through a docking station while the food tray delivery
cart 108 includes only
the housing 104 and the carriage 102 on which it is mounted. The carriage 102
can be designed
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-30
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differently, and it can even be a device that does not include wheels and/or
that is part of another
machine, apparatus or vehicle. Accordingly, a carriage does not necessarily
need to be present, n
particular when a system 100 is manufactured and sold. Other variants are
possible as well.
It should be noted that the term "food tray delivery cart" is used for the
sake of brevity. The food
tray delivery cart 108 is designed, among other things, to store food trays
and to maintain the food
products on the food trays at desired temperatures before the meals are served
(i.e., delivered) to
the persons for which these meals were prepared. It also allows the food trays
to be transported to
or at least closer to these persons. However, notwithstanding the presence of
the word "delivery"
in the term "food tray delivery cart", the distance over which the food trays
are transported after
being loaded in a food tray delivery cart, for instance between a food tray
assembly station in a
commercial kitchen and the location where they will be retrieved to be given
to the persons having
these meals, is relatively unimportant. In some implementations, the food
trays can even remain
substantially at the same location between their loading and unloading. Hence,
the term "food tray
delivery cart" must be understood in this context.
The exterior of the food tray delivery cart 108 in the example of FIGS. 1 and
2 has a generally
boxlike aspect and a generally rectangular shape when viewed from above. The
long axis is referred
to hereafter as the longitudinal axis 107, and the short axis is referred to
hereafter as the transversal
axis 109. The longitudinal axis 107 can also be broadly defined as a line
extending in the lengthwise
direction, and the transversal axis 109 as a line extending in the widthwise
direction. The illustrated
food tray delivery cart 108 is designed so that its usual forward-rearward
direction of travel is
parallel to the longitudinal axis 107. The food tray delivery cart 108
generally has opposite front
and rear sides, and opposite left and right sides. It also has a top side and
a bottom side. Other
configurations and arrangements are possible. Among other things, other shapes
and designs are
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-30
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possible, and non-rectangular and/or irregular shapes are possible. The length
does not always need
to be a larger dimension compared to the width. The relative position, or
layout, of the various
components or parts can also be different. For instance, while the
heating/cooling unit 106 is said
to be positioned at the front of the food tray delivery cart 108 in the
example shown in FIGS. 1
and 2, some implementations can be configured differently. The left, right,
front and rear sides are
all lateral sides. Hence, although the illustrated example shows the opposite
lateral sides are the
left and right sides of the implementation, they can also be the front and
rear sides in others. Other
variants are possible as well.
The carriage 102 of the illustrated example includes a bottom base panel 110
and a plurality of
caster wheels 112, 114 attached under it to engage the floor or ground that
supports the food tray
delivery cart 108. The wheels 112 at the corners can be directional wheels,
i.e., that can also pivot
about a vertical axis, while the wheels 114 at the center have a fixed
orientation, as shown in this
example. The bottom base panel 110 can be essentially a flat rectangular board
that is slightly larger
than the components mounted thereon, as shown. This bottom base panel 110 can
be made of
stainless steel or the like. Bumpers made of a resilient material can be
provided around its periphery
to absorb shocks if the carriage 102 runs into another object or a fixed
structure. Other
configurations and arrangements are possible. Among other things, the number,
configuration, and
type of wheels under the carriage 102 can be different in some
implementations. Other materials
are possible besides stainless steel or the like. The bottom base panel 110
can be designed
differently and can even be omitted in some implementations, for instance by
attaching wheels or
the like directly under the housing 104. As aforesaid, wheels can also be
omitted in some
implementations. Other variants are possible as well.
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-30
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The heating/cooling unit 106 in the example of FIGS. 1 and 2 is a device
capable of supplying
thermally regulated air to be circulated into the housing 104. In the
illustrated example, the
heating/cooling unit 106 can generate both hot and cold air flows. This
heating/cooling unit 106
can be constructed as a self-contained machine or cartridge that can be easily
repaired or replaced
when needed. The heating/cooling unit 106 can be plugged into an electrical
power source when
parked, for instance, using a power cord 116 as schematically depicted in FIG.
8. It can also include
or be otherwise connected to another energy source, such as one or more
batteries (not shown)
designed to keep at least some of the components running when the power cord
116 is unplugged,
for instance when the food tray delivery cart 108 is being repositioned or if
no external power
supply is otherwise available or used at a given location. Other
configurations and arrangements
are possible. Among other things, the heating/cooling unit 106 can be designed
differently, for
instance not as a self-contained machine or cartridge. A heating/cooling unit
does not necessarily
need to be present when a system 100 is manufactured and sold. The term
"heating/cooling" also
has a generic meaning and does not necessarily suggest that the same unit must
do both. For
instance, heat could be provided using by a plurality of heat-generating
elements, such as electric
heating coils, located at multiple locations within the housing 104 or even on
the food trays 160
themselves, with only cooled air coming from the heating/cooling unit 106.
This, however, may
significantly increase the complexity of the implementation and/or the
manufacturing costs of the
food trays. Some implementations could also include two separate machines
mounted on the same
food tray delivery cart 108, one for heating and the other for cooling, and at
least one of them could
even be designed for doing both functions. Others can include one or more
fluid circuits other than
air to provide heat and/or to retrieve heat through heat exchangers positioned
inside the
housing 104 or elsewhere. Some implementations can use more than one method to
provide and/or
to retrieve heat for redundancy. One or more batteries with a sufficient
capacity for sustaining
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-30
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autonomous operation of the heating/cooling unit 106 over at least a complete
cycle could be
provided on the food tray delivery cart 108. Other sources of energy can be
used. Other variants
are possible as well.
The housing 104 of the illustrated example includes structural members to
create a framework or
the like in which are provided separate first and second chambers 202, 204
(see FIG. 7B). Each
chamber 202, 204 has an enclosed internal space accessed through a respective
one among two
opposite lateral openings 130 provided on the housing 104. The housing 104 can
also include an
outer shell 118 surrounding at least a portion of its framework, as shown for
instance in FIGS. 1
and 2. This outer shell 118 includes, among other things, a top panel 120
located above the
housing 104 and the heating/cooling unit 106. This top panel 120 can be
designed to provide a
rectangular and horizontal flat upper surface to temporally store items or for
other useful purposes.
The outer shell 118 can also include a rear panel 122 having a flat vertical
outer surface to which
a driving bar or handle 124 can be attached. The handle 124 can be useful to
facilitate manual
handling of the food tray delivery cart 108 by an attendant. The handle 124
can include a horizontal
rod that is attached to the rear panel 122 through a pair of spaced-apart
brackets maintaining the
horizontal rod in a position where it extends parallel to and at a short
distance from the rear
panel 122. The rear panel 122 can include a curved vertical edge on each side,
as shown. The top
panel 120, the rear panel 122, the handle 124 as well as other structural
components or parts can
be made of stainless steel or the like. Other configurations and arrangements
are possible. Among
.. other things, the handle 124 can be designed and/or attached differently,
or even be omitted in some
implementations. While the food tray delivery cart 108 of the illustrated
example is designed to be
pushed or pulled by hand, some implementations can include a motorized
arrangement to facilitate
the handling. The handle 124 can be located at the front of a food tray
delivery cart. The rear
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-30
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panel 122, including its vertical edges, can be designed differently in other
implementations. The
outer shell 118 can be designed differently or even be omitted in some
implementations. Other
materials can be used besides stainless steel or the like. Other variants are
possible as well.
The system 100 can also include a protective casing 136 to cover the front and
lateral sides of the
heating/cooling unit 106, as shown. This protective casing 136 can include a
door 138, for instance
a pivotable door, on at least one of the lateral sides. A door can also be
provided on the opposite
lateral side. The protective casing 136 can be made easily removable to
facilitate the access to the
heating/cooling unit 106 for maintenance. Other configurations and
arrangements are possible.
Among other things, the protective casing 136 can be designed differently, for
instance having a
different kind of door or even without any door. It can also be entirely
omitted in some
implementations. Other variants are possible as well.
The housing 104 of the illustrated example includes two lateral doors 132, one
for each one among
the two opposite lateral openings 130. Each lateral door 132 is provided to
selectively open and
close the corresponding lateral opening 130. Both lateral doors 132 are in a
closed position in
FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2, but where the lateral doors
132 are open. FIG. 4
is a front isometric view of the system 100 as shown in FIG. 3. The internal
space within each of
the chambers 202, 204 is said to be enclosed because it becomes a
substantially confined space
once its corresponding lateral door 132 is in a fully closed position.
Each lateral door 132 can include structural members covered by flat panels on
the exterior and
interior faces. These flat panels and the main structural members can be made
of stainless steel or
the like. Each lateral door 132 can also include an internal thermal
insulation layer to mitigate heat
conduction and increase the overall energy efficiency. The thermal insulation
layer can also be
desirable to mitigate water condensation on the exterior surfaces under
certain conditions. Other
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-30
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configurations and arrangements are possible. Among other things, the lateral
doors 132 can be
designed differently and/or be made of other materials or combination of
materials. The two lateral
doors 132 are substantially mirror symmetrical in the illustrated example.
However, they do not
necessarily need to be minor symmetrical or otherwise similar in all
implementations. At least one
of the lateral doors 132 can be in the form of two or more independent or semi-
independent
subpanels or subsections instead of being constructed as a single unit or
section. Other variants are
possible as well.
The inner periphery of each lateral door 132 can include one or more gaskets
or other features to
seal the perimeter around each lateral opening 130. They can also improve the
thermal insulation.
Gaskets or other features can also be provided or even only be provided on the
periphery of each
lateral opening 130 created by the housing 104. Other configurations and
arrangements are
possible. Among other things, the periphery of the lateral openings 130 and/or
of the lateral
doors 132 does not necessarily need to include gaskets or other features, and
these sealing
arrangements can be omitted in some implementations. Other variants are
possible as well.
Each of the lateral doors 132 can be pivotally attached to the framework of
the housing 104, as
shown. In the illustrated example, each lateral door 132 is supported by a
corresponding pair of
spaced-apart double action hinges 134 attached directly to the rear panel 122.
Both of these lateral
doors 132 open towards the rear, and they can be folded back against the rear
panel 122, even when
both are fully open simultaneously, regardless of the order. The bottom base
panel 110 can be
configured to extend far enough towards the rear so that the lateral doors 132
remain within the
outer periphery of the bottom base panel 110 when they are folded back against
the rear panel 122,
as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. These lateral doors 132 are generally parallel to
the longitudinal
axis 107 when they are closed, and are generally parallel to the transversal
axis 109 when they are
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-30
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fully open. Other configurations and arrangements are possible. Among other
things, the lateral
openings 130 and the corresponding lateral doors 132 can be designed and
shaped differently
compared to what is shown and/or described herein. The number, position, and
kind of hinges 134
can also be different, and the hinges can be omitted in some implementations.
For instance, one or
both lateral doors 132 could be designed to slide horizontally or vertically,
or be tambour doors or
the like. Other kinds of doors are possible. While having the lateral doors
132 within the outer
periphery of the bottom base panel 110 when folded back against the rear panel
122 can be
desirable for a number of reasons, such as mitigating the risks of damaging
the lateral doors 132
due to an impact with another object or structure, this feature can be omitted
in some
implementations. The lateral doors 132 can be mounted or otherwise attached to
the bottom base
panel 110 in some implementations. Other variants are possible as well.
The bottom base panel 110 can include a door catch 133 or the like to hold the
lateral doors 132
when they are in their fully open position, as shown for instance in FIGS. 2
and 3. Other
configurations and arrangements are possible. Among other things, the door
catch 133 can be
positioned and/or designed differently in some implementations. It can also be
omitted in others.
Other variants are possible as well.
A food tray, in the present context, can be broadly defined as an article
designed to receive a
combination of hot and cold food products. FIG. 23 is a schematic top view of
an example of a
generic food tray 160. This illustration is very simplified and is only for
the sake of explanation.
The food tray 160 includes a hot food products area 160A and a cold food
products area 160B.
This configuration is desirable to allow hot food products to be heated at the
appropriate moment
before the mealtime while keeping the cold food products at a lower
temperature. The system 100
is designed to provide heat to the hot food products before serving the meals
without having to
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-30
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access the food trays. Hot and cold food products are put into corresponding
compaiiments during
the assembly of the food trays 160. This way, heat can be provided at the
appropriate time to
increase the temperature of the food products placed in the hot food products
area 160A on the
food trays 160. Food trays 160, when viewed from above, often have a generally
rectangular shape
with rounded corners on their outer periphery, as shown. They are also often
made of a monolithic
piece of a heat-resistant material, for instance a plastic material. Other
configurations and
arrangements are possible. Among other things, the food trays can be designed
differently and/or
made using another kind of material or a combination of different materials in
some
implementations. Other variants are possible as well.
It should be noted at this point that the terms "hot" and "cold" must be
understood in the context
in which they are presented. They are used primarily to distinguish between
the food products that
will eventually be heated on the food trays just before serving the meals from
those that are not,
among other things. These terms are not used, for instance, to suggest that
the food products must
remain constantly at different temperatures once the food trays are assembled.
The term "hot" has
a broad meaning and does not necessarily suggest a very high temperature or
something more than
warm. The hot food products, or at least some of them, may even be cold when
the food trays are
assembled. The term "cold" also has a broad meaning and does not necessarily
suggest a very cold
temperature or even a freezing temperature. The cold food products can
sometimes be served at
room temperature (for instance about 20 C), but it is also possible to have
hot food products served
at room temperature while the cold food products are at a cold temperature.
The hot food products
will generally be hotter than the cold food products when the meals are
served, but not necessarily
all the time. In particular, because the food trays can be assembled and
placed into the housing of
a food tray delivery cart many hours in advance, sometimes even days in
advance, the entire content
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-30
16
of the housing can be kept at a refrigerated storage temperature (for instance
about 4 C) for a
certain time and the hot food products will generally be heated only a short
time before serving the
meals. The hot and cold food products on the food trays can thus be at the
same or substantially at
the same temperature for a given period of time when stored inside a food tray
delivery cart.
These two areas 160A, 160B of the food trays 160 can have similar sizes, as
shown, but can also
have dissimilar sizes in some implementations. In FIG. 23, the transversal
demarcation line 160C
between the two food products areas 160A, 160B is at the geometric center, and
this demarcation
line 160C is generally substantially parallel to the short axis of the food
tray 160. It can be located
along the top of a continuous and substantially linear ridge 160D extending
from one edge to the
other on the upper surface 160E of the food tray 160, as shown (see for
instance FIG. 14). The
demarcation line 160C can also generally be parallel to a loading/unloading
direction 160F, as
shown. This loading/unloading direction 160F is substantially horizontal and
corresponds to the
movement of the food tray 160 when inserted or retrieved from the food tray
delivery cart 108.
Other configurations and arrangements are possible. Among other things, the
food trays 160 can
be designed differently in some implementations. Other variants are possible
as well.
A food tray 160 can also hold dishes, such as plates, bowls, cups, glasses,
etc., on which the food
products are placed. However, in institutions where meals must be served to a
multiple of persons,
at least some of the food products can be put directly into corresponding
individual compatiments
provided on the upper surface 160E of each food tray 160. These individual
compaiiments can be
delimited by ridges or other features provided in one or both food products
areas 160A, 160B on
the food trays 160. Some tableware, for instance dishes, utensils, lids, or
any other kind of
kitchenware, can be placed onto the upper surface 160E of the food trays 160
together with food
products long before the meals are served. At least some can be already
present when the food
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-30
17
trays 160 are loaded at the food tray assembly station. Any tableware will
thus be cooled and/or
heated together with the other food products. Further, the food products on a
food tray can include
hot and/or cold beverages. For instance, a cup containing water can be placed
on the hot food
products area 160A and this water will then be heated along with the other hot
food products prior
to serving the meal to a person.
The system 100 also includes a tray supporting arrangement inside each chamber
202, 204 to allow
a number of food trays to be stacked at multiple possible levels. Each food
tray is removably
inserted (i.e., loaded) into one of the chambers 202, 204 through the
corresponding lateral
opening 130, and each food tray will subsequently be retrieved (i.e.,
unloaded) through the same
corresponding lateral opening 130. The tray supporting arrangement inside each
chamber 202, 204
has a plurality of vertically spaced stacking positions. Each stacking
position corresponding to a
stowage space for receiving one food tray 160. The food trays 160 are
vertically spaced apart from
one another and the vertical distance between two immediately adjacent
stacking positions is
selected so that the food products placed on the food trays 160, including any
tableware, will remain
at least slightly below the underside of a food tray 160 to be positioned, or
that is already present,
within the stowage space immediately above. The food trays 160 will generally
remain at the
horizontal from the moment food products are placed thereon at a food tray
assembly station until
they are received at a cleaning station after the mealtime. The food trays 160
are horizontally slid
into the stowage space at a corresponding one of the stacking positions. The
stowage position at
the top is closed by the ceiling panel inside the corresponding chamber 202,
204. The number of
food trays that can be stacked will often depend on the minimum vertical
spacing required between
the food trays, and also the maximum height that can still be within the reach
of most attendants
when they stand on the floor next to a food tray delivery cart 108.
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-30
18
Each tray supporting arrangement can include individual supports 162 or
holders affixed on the
corresponding inner surfaces inside the chamber 202, 204, as shown in the
illustrated example.
Each support 162 engages the bottom surface under the outer peripheral rim and
a number of
spaced-apart supports 162 are provided at each stacking position to create a
rack, track or shelf on
which the food tray 160 can be pushed or pulled while being guided and
supported. Other
configurations and arrangements are possible. Among other things, the supports
can be replaced
by other elements or features, and/or the tray supporting arrangements can be
configured
completely differently in some implementations. Other variants are possible as
well.
Each chamber 202, 204 of the illustrated system 100 includes a vertically
extending thermal
barrier 140. FIGS. 3 and 4 show the thermal barrier 140 that is provided
within one of the
chambers 202, 204 in the illustrated example to create a partition wall
separating the hot and cold
food products areas 160A, 160B on the food trays 160. An identical thermal
barrier is also provided
inside the opposite chamber. Each thermal barrier 140 divides the enclosed
internal space within
the corresponding chamber 202, 204 into separate vertically extending hot and
cold food products
sections 202A, 202B, 204A, 204B over substantially the entire height thereof.
This division is made
along the demarcation line 160C on the food trays 160. It creates a total of
four vertical sections or
columns within the housing 104. The first chamber 202 includes a hot and cold
food products
section 202A, and a cold food products section 202B. The second chamber 204
includes a hot and
cold food products section 204A, and a cold food products section 204B.
Each thermal barrier 140 can include a plurality of vertically spaced-apart
horizontal slots, and
each slot corresponds to a stacking position where one of the food trays 160
can be inserted. The
thermal barrier 140 can also provide additional support for the food trays
160. Other configurations
and arrangements are possible. Among other things, although the illustrated
thermal barrier 140 is
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-30
19
shown as extending about the center of the food trays 160 in the illustrated
example, the hot and
cold food products areas 160A, 160B on the food trays 160 can have different
sized and the thermal
barrier 140 will then not be positioned at the geometric center. Other
variants are possible as well.
Each thermal barrier 140 in the example extends perpendicularly with reference
to the lateral
opening 130 across the entire width of the corresponding chamber 202, 204. The
thermal
barrier 140 substantially prevent air circulating in the airspace over the hot
food products
area 160A to reach the airspace over the cold food products area 160B of this
food tray 160, and
vice versa. Each thermal barrier 140 includes seals or other features designed
to close any one of
the clearance spaces when no food tray is present at a given stacking
position. In use, each food
tray 160 will extend across the entire width and depth of the corresponding
chamber 202, 204. The
food trays 160 fit relatively tightly within the interior of each chamber 202,
204 and, once the
lateral doors 132 are fully closed, the periphery of the food trays 160
closely engage the
surrounding wall surfaces to minimize or even prevent air from reaching the
spaces on the opposite
side of the thermal barrier 140. The food trays 160 themselves create
subdivisions within each
section. Other configurations and arrangements are possible.
The system 100 is designed, among other things, so that the same food tray
orientation is used
during the loading process through both opposite lateral openings. In other
words, the orientation
of the hot and cold food products areas 160A, 160B on the food trays 160 will
remain constant for
an attendant standing on the floor next to the system 100, when the system 100
is repositioned the
other way around. This standpoint on the floor is schematically depicted in
FIG. 3 at 161. Thus,
the food tray orientation will not have to be changed depending on which
lateral opening 130 is
being used. This can significantly mitigate the risks of having misoriented
food trays and the
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-30
20
consequences if such a mistake remains undetected until the misplaced food
trays are retrieved
from the housing to serve the meals, among other things.
In the illustrated example, when viewed from above, the hot food products
section 202A of the first
chamber 202 and the hot food products section 204A of the second chamber 204
are diametrically
opposite to one another, and the cold food products section 202B of the first
chamber 202 and the
cold food products section 204B of the second chamber 204 are diametrically
opposite to one
another. This checked pattern layout can be seen, among other things, in FIG.
7B.
FIG. 5 is a front isometric and partially exploded view of the system 100 of
FIG. 1. FIG. 6 is a rear
isometric view of the system 100 of FIG. 1 where the lateral doors 132, the
outer panels and other
components, such as the control module 400, were removed for the sake of
illustration.
The system 100 can include a control module 400 provided on the food tray
delivery cart 108, as
shown for instance in FIG. 5. This control module 400 can be located in a
dedicate space on a top
lateral space provided on the heating/cooling unit 106, as shown. The control
module 400 can
include, for instance, hardware and software components to control and monitor
the
heating/cooling unit 106 and/or other features. It can also include a display
screen 402, visible for
instance when the door 138 is open, directly on one side thereof. This display
screen 402 can be a
touch screen through which an attendant can control the various functions and
subsystems, and
also access different information. The control module 400 could also include
switches (not shown)
or the like. If desired, the control module 400 can be configured to receive
signals from various
sensors, for instance temperature and/or humidity sensors 180, to name just a
few, located inside
the chambers 202, 204. The control module 400 in the illustrated example can
be configured to
constantly receive data from temperature and/or humidity sensors 180 located
inside the
chambers 202, 204 or elsewhere. This can be useful to detect a potential or
actual problem, and to
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-30
21
notify an attendant or someone else if necessary. For instance, data coming
from one or more
temperature and/or humidity sensors 180 during any one of the stages of
operation can be collected
and recorded and/or automatically transmitted to an external system in case
something will be
discovered at a later date. Data from the temperature and/or humidity sensors
180 can also be useful
even when no food tray is present, such as during a cleaning operation. The
control module 400
can include a wireless antenna or another kind of communication system to
establish a
unidirectional or bidirectional electronic link with one or more remote
computer systems or the
like. Other configurations and arrangements are possible. Among other things,
although the control
module 400 is depicted in FIG. 5 as an independent piece of equipment, for
instance a general-
purpose computer or the like that can be replaced by another one when a repair
or an upgrade is
necessary, the control module 400 can be made integral, at least in part, with
another one of the
components of the system 100, for instance the housing 104 and/or the
heating/cooling unit 106. It
can be positioned elsewhere. The control module 400 may not necessarily
include an integrated
display screen 402 in all implementations. Still, some implementations can be
designed to operate
using only manually operated mechanical switches or the like, thus without
having any control
module 400 or an equivalent. Other variants are possible as well.
Once the mealtime is over, the soiled food trays are often simply inserted
back into the housing 104
to be transported to another location, for instance to a tray cleaning station
where the soiled food
trays will be removed from the housing 104, emptied and thoroughly cleaned.
The interior of the
housing 104 must then generally be cleaned afterwards because some of the
surfaces could have
been in contact with some food products at some point. A cleaning operation
with an increased
degree or level of thoroughness and completeness can also be necessary from
time to time, and the
procedures may require for instance sanitizing surfaces inside air conduits or
ducts, among other
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-30
22
things. In general, a routine cleaning operation and the more extensive ones
can involve using a
high-pressure hot water spray or jet to remove any food residues and other
possible contaminants
from the surfaces. The temperature and/or humidity sensors 180 can be
configured and disposed to
detect the sudden and brief increase of the temperature and/or humidity level
occurring when they
are in contact with a hot water spray during cleaning. The control module 400
can then be
programmed to monitor and relay data obtained from these signals or, if
applicable, their absence.
For instance, not receiving a signal from one or more of the sensors could
indicate that at least
some of the surfaces inside the chambers 202, 204 were not cleaned for some
reason, thus that the
cleaning operation is incomplete. Other configurations and arrangements are
possible.
The various sections within the chambers 202, 204 inside the housing 104 can
receive air coming
from the heating/cooling unit 106 through an air passage arrangement. This air
passage
arrangement is provided to form a hot food products air circuit 206 and a cold
food products air
circuit 208. These two air circuits 206, 208 are separate from one another.
They each extend
between an inlet and an outlet without mixing.
FIGS. 5 and 6 show some of the parts of the air passage arrangement in the
illustrated example.
This air passage arrangement receives air from the heating/cooling unit 106
and returns it
afterwards through various inlet and outlet ports 210, 212, 214, 216 located
at the front side of the
chambers 202, 204 in this example. These ports are only schematically depicted
in FIG. 5. The air
passage arrangement allows two separate air circuits 206, 208 (see FIG. 7B) to
be formed within
the housing 104. These first and second air circuits 206, 208 will pass
through corresponding
conduits provided around the chambers 202, 204 and through air spaces inside
the chambers 202,
204, where the air circuits 206, 208 are divided into a plurality of local arc-
shaped subbranches.
One of these air circuits 206, 208 is associated with one among the hot and
cold food products, and
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-30
23
the other one is associated with the cold food products. The cross-section
areas of the outlet
ports 212, 216, through which the outgoing air returns into the
heating/cooling unit 106, is often
larger than that of the corresponding inlet ports 210, 212. Other
configurations and arrangements
are possible. Among other things, the ports do not necessarily need to have a
rectangular shape
and/or to be something that is an opening made through a panel, a wall or
another element. The
term "port" and other related terms are, in general, simply referring to one
end of an air circuit.
They are the locations where air is supplied and returned after passing inside
the housing 104, for
instance the junction between air conduits around the housing 104 and air
conduits or other kinds
of passageways inside the heating/cooling unit 106. Other variants are
possible as well.
It should be noted that the first and second air circuits 206, 208 will now be
referred to hereafter as
the "hot food products" air circuit 206 and the "cold food products" air
circuit 208. This is only for
the sake of simplicity. Other configurations and arrangements are possible.
Among other things, in
other implementations, the first air circuit 206 can be the "cold" air circuit
and the second air
circuit 208 would then be the "hot" air circuit compared to what is shown in
the figures. Other
variants are possible as well.
In general, air inside the system 100 circulates in a closed loop. In other
words, once the lateral
doors 132 are closed, the air content will remain the same until at least one
of these lateral door 132
is open. This is often desirable to mitigate the release of food odors and/or
to increase the energy
efficiency. Other configurations and arrangements are possible. Among other
things, the air inside
the system 100 may not necessarily circulate or always circulate in a closed
loop in all
implementations. Other variants are possible as well.
Air from the hot food products air circuit 206 will circulate over the hot
food products areas 160A
on the food trays 160 while air from the cold food products air circuit 208
circulates over their cold
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-30
24
food products areas 160B before the meals are served. This is what is referred
to hereafter as the
food heating mode. Before the food heating mode is taking place, however, it
is often necessary to
keep all food products, hot or cold, at a refrigerated temperature (for
instance of about 4 C). This
is referred to hereafter as the food storage mode. The temperature of the air
circulating in the hot
food products air circuit 206 and the temperature of the air circulating in
the cold food products air
circuit 208 can thus be the same or substantially the same during the food
storage mode. Hence,
the term "hot" does not require the air be hot or hotter than the "cold" air
at any given time. Air
flowing along the two air circuits 206, 208 can be mixed inside the
heating/cooling unit 106 during
the food storage mode. The two air circuits 206, 208 remain independent from
one another inside
.. the housing 104 during the food storage mode and when the food heating mode
is in progress, air
returning into the heating/cooling unit 106 from the two air circuits 206, 208
will not be mixed to
save energy. Other configurations and arrangements are possible. Among other
things, air from the
two air circuits 206, 208 does not necessarily need to be mixed during the
food storage mode in all
implementations. Some implementations can be designed without a food storage
mode, for instance
when the meals are always served immediately once the food trays 160 are
loaded inside the
housing 104, or for other reasons, such as when the whole system 100 can be
stored inside a
refrigerated space. Other variants are possible as well.
The air passage arrangement around the chambers 202, 204 can include four
vertical double air
ducts 170, 171, 172, 173 and two double horizontal air ducts 175, 176, as
shown in the illustrated
example. FIGS. 5 and 6 show that in the illustrated example, the two
horizontal double air
ducts 175, 176 are located at the top of the chambers 202, 204 and, when
viewed from above, have
an X-shaped configuration or layout in the illustrated example. The horizontal
double air ducts 175,
176 can include outer walls made of or covered with a thermally insulating
material, for instance
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-30
25
in the overlapping portions or along their entire length. Each of these
horizontal and/or vertical
double air ducts can be formed by a corresponding pair of air conduits that
are substantially
adjacent and parallel to one another in which air flows in opposite or
counterflow directions or
paths, one being an incoming flow path and the other being an outgoing flow
path. These two air
conduits can have, for instance, a common intervening separator wall extending
along their entire
length. Other configurations and arrangements are possible. Among other
things, the air passage
arrangement can be designed and/or positioned differently in other
implementations, including
without having at least one among the horizontal and/or vertical double air
duct. For instance, some
of the conduits can be detached from one another, or positioned away from one
another. Some of
the horizontal and/or vertical conduits may not be adjacent and parallel to
one another, either over
their entire length or a portion thereof. Other variants are possible as well.
It should be noted that in the illustrated example, as depicted in FIG. 7B,
the vertical air duct 170
has an incoming air conduit 170A and an outgoing air conduit 170B, the
vertical air duct 171 has
an incoming air conduit 171A and an outgoing air conduit 171B, the vertical
air duct 172 has an
incoming air conduit 172A and an outgoing air conduit 172B, and the vertical
air duct 173 has an
incoming air conduit 173A and an outgoing air conduit 173B. Other
configurations and
arrangements are possible. Among other things, the configuration can be
different in other
implementations. Other variants are possible as well.
The top end of each vertical air duct 170, 171, 172, 173 can be attached to a
corresponding end of
one of the horizontal air ducts 175, 176, and their internal air conduits can
be designed to
hermetically fit end-to-end, as shown. For instance, in the illustrated
example, the two air
conduits 170A, 170B are in direct fluid communication with a respective one of
the air
conduits 172A, 172B located on the diametrically opposite side of the housing
104 through air
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-30
26
conduits of the first horizontal double air duct 175. Likewise, the two air
conduits 171A, 171B are
in direct fluid communication with a respective one of the air conduits 173A,
173B located on the
diametrically opposite side of the housing 104 through air conduits of the
first horizontal double
air duct 175. Other configurations and arrangements are possible. Among other
things, one or more
of the air ducts or conduits can be designed and/or positioned differently. At
least one among the
horizontal air ducts 175, 176 can be provided under the housing 104 in some
implementations.
Others can include one or more horizontal air ducts under the housing 104 in
addition to the ones
provided at the top and that also have an X-shaped configuration or layout
when viewed from
above. Other variants are possible as well.
FIG. 7A is a cross-sectional plan view of the housing 104 in the system 100 of
FIG. 1. The
heating/cooling unit 106 is only semi-schematically depicted and some of the
components, for
instance the lateral doors 132, were omitted for the sake of simplicity. FIG.
7A shows the interior
of the housing 104 has a first 202 and a second chamber 204. These chambers
202, 204 can be
separated from one another by an intervening vertically extending partition
wall 200, as shown.
The partition wall 200 hermetically separates the two chambers 202, 204, and
the interior of each
chamber 202, 204 can only be accessed through its corresponding lateral
opening 130. The two
thermal barriers 140 can also be seen. The outer surfaces on each side of the
partition wall 200 can
be made of stainless steel or the like. However, the interior of the partition
wall 200 can be
thermally insulated. Other configurations and arrangements are possible. Among
other things, the
chambers 202, 204 can be in the form of two separately constructed containers
or vessels placed
inside the housing 104. The back walls of these chambers can also be made
larger and even large
enough to receive the heating/cooling unit 106 between them in some
implementations. Other
materials are possible besides stainless steel or the like. Other variants are
possible as well.
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-30
27
For the sake of simplicity, the first and second sections within the chamber
202, 204 will now be
referred to as hot and cold food products sections since in each chamber 202,
204, the hot food
products areas 160A of all food trays 160 placed therein will be in one food
products section and
their opposite cold food products areas 160B will be in the other.
Accordingly, in the first
chamber 202 has a hot food products section 202A and a cold food products
section 202B, and the
second chamber 204 has a hot food products section 204A and a cold food
products section 204B.
FIG. 7A shows that there are two sets of inlet and outlet ports for supplying
and retrieving air from
inside the chambers 202, 204. The first set includes a first inlet port 210
and a first outlet port 212.
They are, respectively, the upstream and downstream ends of the hot food
products air circuit 206.
The second set includes a second inlet port 214 and a second outlet port 216.
They are, respectively,
the upstream and downstream ends of the cold food products air circuit 208.
FIG. 7A further shows that portions of the air circuits 206, 208 follow a
substantially arc-shaped
path or loop within each food products section. Air passes over and also above
the food products
to provide heating or cooling. In some cases, an air flowing under the surface
of a food tray 160
can transfer and/or retrieve heat more efficiently than air flowing above. An
air flow is nevertheless
provided under and also above each food tray 160 since two vertically
consecutive food trays 160
within a stack have a common intervening space, except at the topmost and
bottommost stacking
positions. Accordingly, additional sets of air apertures can be provided in
some implementations
at the top and/or the bottom of a food products section. Other variants are
possible as well.
FIG. 7B is a schematic representation of the internal layout inside the
housing 104 shown in
FIG. 7A. This view is provided only to depict the position of the various
components of this
example.
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-30
28
Each vertical double air duct 170, 171, 172, 173 can include a corresponding
air diffuser panel 164
extending along its inner side. Each of these panels 164 include sets of air
apertures 166, 168 for
circulating air in the spaces above and under the food trays 160. In use, air
enters the space between
two food trays 160 through the incoming air apertures 166 and exits through
the outgoing air
apertures 168. Air that follows the hot food products air circuit 206 can only
go over and under the
hot food products area 160A on the food trays 160, and air that follows the
cold food products air
circuit 208 can only go over and under the cold food products area 160B on the
food trays 160.
There is at least one incoming air aperture 166 and at least one outgoing air
aperture 168 for each
intervening space between the corresponding food products areas of two
superimposed food
trays 160 in a given stack. There are also at least one incoming air aperture
166 and at least outgoing
air aperture 168 for the airspace immediately above the corresponding food
products area 160A,
160B on the food tray 160 located at the top, as well as at least one incoming
air aperture 166 and
at least one outgoing air aperture 168 for the space immediately under the
corresponding food
products area 160A, 160B on the food tray 160 located at the bottom of the
stack. The number, size
and/or shape of the various air apertures 166, 168 can vary depending on where
they are located
along the corresponding air circuits 206, 208. The dimensions of the air
conduits leading to or away
from the air apertures 166, 168 can also vary. In general, the internal air
supply network is designed
so that in each air circuit 206, 208, the flow rate of air passing through its
subbranches will be
approximately the same, taken into account the pressure drop along the way.
For instance, the cross
section of the air apertures 166, 168 of a set located very close to the inlet
and outlet ports will be
smaller or collectively smaller than that of air apertures 166, 168 of a set
located at a far end on the
opposite site of the housing 104. These principles are well known to those
skilled in the art and
therefore, they do not need to be discussed further. Other configurations and
arrangements are
possible.
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-30
29
Air coming out of the incoming air apertures 166 will cool or heat the food
products over which it
flows, depending on the mode of operation and the corresponding food products
area 160A, 160B.
With the exception of the incoming air apertures 166 at the topmost location,
air will also provide
heat or cooling to the underside of every food tray 160. These food trays 160
will conduct heat,
either for heating or cooling, so heat transfers can occur on both top and
bottom sides. In general,
the incoming air apertures 166 are positioned to direct air towards the
underside of each food
tray 160 and not directly over the food products to prevent or mitigate
dehydration, particularly the
dehydration of the hot food products during the food heating mode. Providing
most of the heat
using heat conducted through the thickness of the material of the food trays
160 is generally
desirable. Among other things, some food trays 160 may have lids placed over
at least a portion of
the hot food products and they can disrupt the heat transmission coming from
air passing on the
upper side.
Ideally, when the food trays 160 are assembled, the hot food products are
positioned on the hot
food products area 160A so as to evenly distribute the thermal load as much as
possible. For
instance, a thin slice of meat loaf should not be placed directly on the
surface of the food tray 160
next to a scoop of mashed potatoes. The thin slice of meat loaf may receive an
excessive amount
of heat during the food heating mode while the mashed potatoes are not
receiving enough. In this
case, during the food tray assembly, the scoop of mashed potatoes can be
flattened, and the thin
slice of meat loaf can be placed above this layer. In general, hot food
products are simply heated
or reheated, and are not cooked during the food heating mode.
Sets of incoming and outgoing air apertures 166, 168 can be provided to send
air into the spaces
over the topmost food trays 160 of the stacks. Some implementations can be
configured differently.
However, during the food heating mode, having some of the air flowing along
the hot food products
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-30
30
air circuit 206 going over the hot food products area 160A of the topmost food
tray 160 of each
stack can be useful to prevent an excessive amount of condensation from
building up inside a lid
placed over the hot food products or some of the hot food products. Hot food
products can receive
heat coming from air passing or even impinging on the underside of the hot
food products
area 160A on the food trays 160. Providing heat in the air space immediately
above the hot food
products area 160A of the topmost food tray 160 of each stack to bring its air
temperature at the
same or close to the same air temperature below can mitigate the condensation
inside a lid.
It should be noted that the hot food products air circuit 206 and the cold air
circuit 208 each include
a multitude of subbranches of different lengths. For instance, some of the air
passing through the
inlet port 210 will go through the closest incoming air aperture or apertures
166 from the inlet
port 210, circulate into the corresponding space, and then exit through the
outgoing air aperture or
apertures 168 before passing through the outlet port 212 located very close.
This subbranch is the
shortest on this side. In contrast, the air coming from the inlet port 210
will reach the corresponding
airspace located at the bottom of the diametrically opposite side only after
passing through the
corresponding air conduit inside the horizontal air duct 175 at the top and
then all the way down
before reaching the incoming air aperture or apertures 166 of that airspace.
This air will exit the
airspace through the corresponding outgoing air aperture or apertures 168,
then flow all the way in
the opposite direction to reach the outlet port 212. This subbranch is thus
very long. There are a
multitude of subbranches and a multitude of local air paths within each air
circuit 206, 208.
Accordingly, each air circuit 206, 208 does not follow a single path but
multiple ones. Each air
circuit 206, 208 is thus formed by the combination of the multiple subbranches
inside the
housing 104 and other corresponding air passages within the system 100. Other
configurations and
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-30
31
arrangements are possible. Among other things, the layout of the various ports
210, 212, 214, 216
can be different in some implementations. Other variants are possible as well.
The air diffuser panels 164 through which the air apertures 166, 168 are
provided can be part of air
distribution doors 220 that are pivotally mounted inside the housing 104.
There are four of these
air distribution doors 220 inside the housing 104 of the example in FIG. 1.
This feature can greatly
facilitate access for cleaning the interior of the chambers 202, 204 and the
air conduits on each
side. The air distribution doors 220, like other components and panels inside
the housing 104, can
be made of stainless steel or the like. As known by those skilled in the art,
the dimensions of the
various air conduits and of the air apertures 166, 168 are generally designed
so as to obtain
substantially similar airflows in the air spaces receiving air coming from a
same air circuit 206,
208. Other configurations and arrangements are possible. Among other things,
the air distribution
doors 220 could be replaced by other kinds of panels or be designed completely
differently,
including panels that cannot be pivoted. For instance, some implementations
could be designed so
that accessing the interior of the conduits is made from the exterior instead
of the interior as shown.
.. Other materials could be used instead of stainless steel or the like. Other
variants are possible as
well.
FIG. 8 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the housing 104 in the system
100 of FIG. 1. As
can be seen, there are ten food trays 160 in superposition in this illustrated
example. There are also
ten food trays 160 that can be loaded in the other stack through the opposite
side. Other
.. configurations and arrangements are possible. Among other things, the
number of food trays 160
can be different on each side. Other variants are possible as well.
FIG. 8 further shows semi-schematically that the system 100 can include a
parking brake
arrangement to prevent the food tray delivery cart 108 from moving when
parked, for instance
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-30
32
when food trays are loaded or unloaded, when the heating/cooling unit 106 is
plugged into an
electric socket, or in any other situation where preventing the food tray
delivery cart 108 from
moving is warranted. In the illustrated example, the parking brake arrangement
includes a manually
operated brake lever 310 provided on the rear panel 122 just above the handle
124. The brake
lever 310 can be pivoted, for instance over 180 degrees, to selectively
activate and release a braking
mechanism provided on or built-in into one or more of the wheels under the
carriage 102, for
instance the two wheels 114 at the center. The pivot mount at the base of the
brake lever 310 can
be mechanically connected to the wheels 114 through one or more brake cables
312, as shown.
Changing the position of the brake lever 310 actuates the braking mechanism of
each wheel 114
by pulling or pushing the metallic wire inside the cable or each of the brake
cables 312 to engage
or release the parking brake. Other configurations and arrangements are also
possible. Among other
things, the brake lever 310 or any other components of the parking brake
arrangement can be
designed and/or positioned differently and/or be actuated without using a
brake cable. The parking
brake arrangement can also be replaced by something else, or even be entirely
omitted in some
implementations. Others can include a parking brake arrangement that is
controlled and operated
through an electric or electronic interface or connection. Other variants are
possible as well.
FIG. 9 is a front isometric view illustrating only the bottom base panel 110
and some of the
components of the air passage arrangement of the system 100 of FIG. 1. Some of
these components
are parts located within the vertical air duct 170. This figure is only
provided for the sake of
illustration. The hinges 230 for the illustrated air distribution door 220 are
visible. These hinges 230
are attached to one of the three spaced apart vertical beams 240, 242, 244,
namely to the beam 244.
There are air distribution doors 220 with hinges 230 on the inner side of the
other vertical air
ducts 171, 172, 173. As aforesaid, this configuration can greatly facilitate
the cleaning of the
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-30
33
interior of the vertical air ducts 170, 171, 172, 173. The hinges 230 can also
be seen in FIG. 7A.
Other configurations and arrangements are possible. Among other things, air
distribution doors 220
could be replaced by other kinds of panels or be designed completely
differently, including with
other kinds of hinges 230 or even without hinges. Other variants are possible
as well.
In FIG. 9, the middle beam 242 is also the separator wall that divides the
inlet air conduit from the
outlet air conduit inside this vertical air duct 170 along the entire length.
Still, a locking device 250
can be provided to hold the air distribution door 220 closed during operation.
The locking
device 250 can use the beam 240 to hold the air distribution door 220 in
place. FIG. 9 also shows
that elongated bottom brackets 260 can be provided to attach the bottom of the
beams 240, 242,
244 to the bottom base panel 110. Other configurations and arrangements are
possible. Among
other things, another kind of locking device 250 or arrangement can be used,
and the locking
device 250 could be omitted in some implementations. The bottom brackets 260
could be designed
or configured differently, and they can be omitted in some implementations.
Other variants are
possible as well.
FIG. 10 is a partial and semi-schematic isometric view of an example of one of
the humidifier
trays 300 provided in the system 100 of FIG. 1. The system 100 includes two of
these humidifier
trays 300, namely one at the bottom of each hot food products section 202A,
204A, under the
bottommost of the food trays 160 on each stack. They are designed to be easily
accessed, filled
with water, and cleaned. They can be made a heat-resistant polymeric material,
such as polyvinyl
chloride (PVC) or the like. Each of the humidifier trays 300 can hold a small
quantity of water, for
instance between 225 ml and 1,000 ml, and at least some of this water will
evaporate during the
food heating mode. Air coming from the hot food products air circuit 206 below
the bottommost
food tray 160 of each stack will flow over the corresponding humidifier tray
300 and, since this
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-30
34
airflow is hot during the food heating mode, it will capture some of the water
released as it
evaporates from the humidifier tray 300. The humidifier trays 300 can be
useful to increase or at
least maintain the relative humidity level of the air in the hot food products
air circuit 206 during
the food heating mode in a closed loop, for instance to maintain it above 50%.
The hot air
circulating over the hot food products during the food heating mode can often
dehydrate some of
these food products under certain conditions. Increasing the relative humidity
level can help
mitigate the dehydration. Other configurations and arrangements are possible.
Among other things,
the humidifier trays 300 not necessarily always increase the relative humidity
level of the air, and
they may instead only maintain the relative humidity level or even preventing
it from decreasing
.. too rapidly or from getting too low. The humidifier trays 300 can be made
of a material other than
PVC or the like. Other kinds of humidifier arrangements are possible.
Humidifier arrangements
and methods can also be entirely omitted in some implementations. Other
variants are possible as
well.
The humidifier tray 300 of the example shown in FIG. 10 includes an outer
peripheral wall 302
.. projecting from a bottom wall 304. It also includes a plurality of
vertically extending baffles 306
in the space therein. Although only a portion of these baffles 306 are semi-
schematically
represented in FIG. 10, there are vertically extending baffles 306 over the
entire bottom area inside
the water receptacle of the humidifier tray 300 to mitigate the risks of
spilling the water outside the
humidifier trays 300 when the food tray delivery cart 108 but without having
to use a deeper water
receptacle. The depth of the humidifier tray 300 can be for instance about 1
inch (2.5 cm) and the
baffles 306 can have a height of about 0.5 inches (1.3 cm). In general,
minimizing the depth of the
water receptacle is desirable to improve the water evaporation during the food
heating mode.
Different regular or irregular baffle layouts are possible. The illustrated
example shows vertically
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-30
35
extending baffles 306 positioned in a labyrinth-like layout. This layout
allows water poured at any
location to be evenly distributed within the water receptacle. Other
configurations and
arrangements are possible. Among other things, the number, dimensions, and
design of the
humidifier trays 300, including any one of their components, can be different
in some
implementations. Other variants are possible as well.
FIG. 11 is an isometric view of one of the thermal barriers 140 provided in
the system 100 of
FIG. 1. Both thermal barriers 140 have an identical construction in the
illustrated implementation.
Each thermal barrier 140 can include a plurality of components that are easy
to disassemble for
cleaning and to reassemble repeatedly, as shown. FIG. 11 shows the thermal
barrier 140 when fully
assembled.
FIG. 12 is an exploded view of the thermal barrier shown in FIG. 11. As can be
seen, this thermal
barrier 140 includes a main support 142. The main support 142 can be made of a
rigid material
such as stainless steel or the like. It includes a U-shaped vertically
extending beam 144 and a
plurality of elongated flat blade members 146 extending horizontally from the
interior side of the
U-shaped beam 144, and that are vertically spaced apart from one another. The
illustrated thermal
barrier 140 further includes a plurality of sheaths 148, one for each blade
member 146, and each
sheath 148 can be removably inserted over the corresponding blade member 146.
The sheaths 148
can be made of a polymeric material having a low thermal conductivity, and
they can be designed
and manufactured as extruded parts with internal air pockets surrounding the
sleeve portion in
which the corresponding blade member 146 fits. These air pockets can
significantly lower the
thermal conductivity, and they also minimize the quantity of material for
making each sheath 148.
The illustrated thermal barrier 140 also includes top and bottom members 150,
152 that are
removably inserted on the topmost and bottommost segments of the U-shaped beam
144,
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-30
36
respectively. The free end of each sheath 148, namely the end that away from
the beam 144, can
be sealed off or otherwise plugged, for instance using a cap 149 (FIG. 11) as
shown in the example.
The free end of the top and bottom members 150, 152 can also have a
corresponding cap. These
caps 149 can be press-fitted and/or secured using fasteners, for instance as
bolts, screws or the like.
They can be useful to prevent contaminants, such as the food products, from
going inside the
sheaths 148 and the top and bottom members 150, 152. The caps 149 can also be
designed to be
engaged by the interior surface of the corresponding lateral door 132 when
closed. Other
configurations and arrangements are possible. Among other things, the thermal
barrier 140 can be
designed and shaped completely differently. For instance, the caps 149 can be
designed differently
or even be omitted. The thermal barrier 140 can be made of a single monolithic
piece in some
implementations. Other materials than those indicated are possible. Other
variants are possible as
well.
FIG. 13 is an enlarged and partial cross-sectional view of the thermal barrier
140 shown in FIG. 11.
It shows two of the blade members 146 and their sheaths 148. As aforesaid, the
sheaths 148 can
form a plurality of internal air pockets, as shown. FIG. 13 further shows that
each sheath 148 can
include an inverted V-shaped flexible sealing strip 154 extending along its
base, with the two
projecting parts generally extending downwards, as shown. The sealing strop
154 can be made of
material such as silicone or the like. The sealing strip 154 can be
manufactured separately and
attached by inserting a corresponding base portion into a slot extending under
the entire length of
each sheath 148, as shown. The sealing strip 154 is provided to seal the
intervening space in the
space right above the demarcation line 160C between the hot and cold food
products areas 160A,
160B on the food trays 160, as shown for instance in FIG. 14. FIG. 14 shows
the thermal
barrier 140 of FIG. 13 with an example of a food tray 160 inserted therein.
The top member 150
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-30
37
(FIG. 12) can also include such sealing strip 154. The sealing strips 154 can
also seal the spaces
when no food tray is present. Other configurations and arrangements are
possible. Among other
things, the sealing strips 154 can be designed and/or shaped differently. It
could also be replaced
by other arrangements in some implementations, or even be entirely omitted in
others. The sealing
strips 154 can be made integral with the sheaths 148, for instance by
coextrusion or the like. The
sealing strips 154 can be made of a material other than silicone or the like.
Other variants are
possible as well.
As can be seen, the food tray 160 shown in the example of FIG. 14 includes a
continuous and
substantially linear ridge 160D extending from one edge to the other on the
upper surface 160E.
The top of this ridge 160D provides a narrow horizontal to be engaged by the
bottom edge of a
corresponding one of the sealing strips 154. This also shows that the food
trays 160 are not
necessarily flat. Other configurations and arrangements are possible. Among
other things, the food
trays can be designed and/or shaped differently. Other variants are possible
as well.
FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional plan view similar to FIG. 7A but also showing
semi-schematically
some of the components of the heating/cooling unit 106 when the system 100 is
set in a food storage
mode. No food tray is shown in FIG. 15, and the humidifier trays 300 are also
visible in this view.
They can rest on the bottom surface 290 of a corresponding one of the hot food
products
sections 202A, 204A.
The heating/cooling unit 106 of the illustrated example includes a
refrigeration device 500 having,
among other things, a compressor 502, a condenser 504, an expansion valve 506
and an
evaporator 508 through which circulates a refrigerant in a closed-loop
circuit. The condenser 504
is a heat exchanger that can lower the temperature of the hot refrigerant
coming out at the outlet of
the compressor 502, for instance using a blower forcing ambient air to go
through the
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-30
38
condenser 504 and retrieve heat from the refrigerant. The cooled refrigerant
then goes through the
expansion valve 506 where its pressure is significantly decreased, thereby
causing its temperature
to drop. The cold refrigerant flows thereafter inside the evaporator 508 and
when air returning from
inside the housing 104 passes through the evaporator 508, heat is transferred
from the air to the
cold refrigerant, thereby causing the air temperature to decrease. The
refrigerant then goes back to
the compressor 502, and the process is repeated. Other configurations and
arrangements are
possible. Among other things, the refrigeration device 500 can be designed
differently. Other
variants are possible as well.
The heating/cooling unit 106 can combine air returning from both air circuits
206, 208 and send it
through the evaporator 508 during the food storage mode, as shown. Two fans or
blowers 510, 512
are provided in this example to move air along the two air circuits 206, 208.
The first blower 510
is associated with the hot food products air circuit 206, and the second
blower 512 is associated
with the cold air circuit 208. Air coming out of the first blower 510 passes
through an electric air
heater 520 before being sent to the inlet port 210 using a corresponding air
conduit. However,
because the heating/cooling unit 106 is currently set in the food storage
mode, the air heater 520 is
not generating any heat. A first air damper 530 and a second air damper 532
are provided in this
example to channel air based on the selected mode. They are in a food storage
configuration in
FIG. 15. The first air damper 530 is in a position where air returning through
the outlet port 212
will go to the evaporator 508. The second air damper 532, located downstream
of the
evaporator 508, is set in a position allowing some of the air that went
through the evaporator 508
to go to the first blower 510. The rest of the air that went through the
evaporator 508 will go to the
second blower 512 and be sent to inlet port 214 using a corresponding air
conduit. Other
configurations are arrangements are possible. Among other things, one or more
of the air dampers
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-30
39
can be designed and/or positioned differently. Other shutter arrangements can
be provided in some
implementations, and they could be omitted in others. Other variants are
possible as well.
FIG. 16 is a view similar to FIG. 15 but where the system 100 is now set in
the food heating mode.
The first air damper 530 and the second air damper 532 are now in a food
heating configuration.
The first air damper 530 now redirects air coming through from the outlet port
212 directly to the
inlet of the first blower 510, thereby preventing it from going through the
evaporator 508. The
second air damper 532 is also positioned so as to prevent air passing through
the evaporator 508
from going to the first blower 510. Thus, only air coming from the outlet port
216 will go through
the second blower 512 before passing through the inlet port 214. Still, air
from the first blower 510
can now be heated using the air heater 520 to increase its temperature. The
air temperature of the
hot food products air circuit 206 can be controlled, for instance, by
adjusting the amount of
electrical energy going through the heating coil inside the air heater 520.
One or more temperature
and/or humidity sensors 180 can be provided at various locations to monitor
the air temperatures
and the relative humidity levels. The rotation speed of the first blower 510
can also be adjusted if
needed. Likewise, the operation of the refrigeration device 500 can be
controlled and/or the rotation
speed of the second blower 512 can be adjusted if needed, for instance based
on signals received
from temperature sensors 180 provided on that side as well. The adjustments
and the data
monitoring can be done, for instance, through the control module 400. Other
configurations are
arrangements are possible.
It is worth mentioning that the illustrated refrigeration device 500 and its
evaporator 508 are
designed for cooling the entire content inside the two chambers 202, 204
during the food storage
mode but during the food heating mode, the flow of air through the evaporator
508 will be smaller,
for instance half the previous one, since only air from the cold food products
air circuit 208 then
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-30
40
goes through the evaporator 508. This can be very helpful for keeping the cold
air at a low
temperature in spite of all the various nearby surfaces and air spaces within
the housing 104 being
at a significantly hotter temperature. For instance, some heat transfer will
occur even if the thermal
barrier 140 between the adjacent hot and cold food products sections within
each chamber 202,
204 is extremely airtight and its thermal insulation is optimal. Hence, having
a smaller volume of
air going through the evaporator 508 during the food heating mode can mitigate
the internal heat
transfers.
The food products on the hot food products area 160A on the food trays 160 are
often heated until
their temperature reaches a target, for instance about 75 C. The air
circulating in the hot food
products air circuit 206 during the food heating mode will be at least at this
temperature, or at a
hotter temperature, for instance about 90 C or high, and the food heating
mode is often carried out
for 45 to 50 minutes until the meals on the food trays 160 are ready for
serving. The heat is provided
to warm the hot food products and in almost all implementations, no cooking
process is carried out
inside the food tray delivery cart 108. The lateral doors 132 will then be
opened and the food
trays 160 will be removed from the housing 104 to be presented to the persons
having their meals.
The heating/cooling unit 106 will often stop when at least one of the lateral
doors 132 are open. It
can also run at an idle speed or lower-power setting, for instance, one that
can just maintain the
temperature of the hot and/or cold food products on the food trays 160 pending
their removal from
the housing 104. Other configurations and arrangements are possible. Among
other things, and as
aforesaid, other methods can be used to increase the temperature of the hot
food products during
the food heating mode. The target temperature of the hot food products and/or
the duration of the
food heating mode can be different from one implementation to another. Other
variants are possible
as well.
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-30
41
The lateral doors 132 are shown in a closed position in FIG. 16. They were
closed prior to activating
the food heating mode and it is generally desirable that they remain closed
throughout the entire
heating process. If desired, door sensors (not shown) can be provided to
interrupt the food heating
mode or set it to idle (i.e., where the heating/cooling unit 106 is only
running a lower power level)
if any one of the lateral doors 132 is open. Some implementations can include
automatic door locks
(not shown) to prevent the lateral doors 132 from being opened unless the food
heating mode is
stopped. Other configurations and arrangements are possible.
As aforesaid, the interior of the chambers 202, 204 is often cleaned after
each food tray distribution
run. The interior of the heating/cooling unit 106 and of the horizontal air
ducts 175, 176, however,
may only require an occasional cleaning, for instance because they are almost
never in direct
contact with any food products. These components may require a complete
cleaning process after
a given time in combination with a simpler cleaning procedure carried out from
time to time
between each complete cleaning. This simpler cleaning procedure can include a
cleaning solution
sprayed inside the housing 104 when it is empty so as to form a mist. The
blowers 510, 512 can
then run at a low speed while the lateral doors 132 are closed until all
internal surfaces have
received a suitable quantity of droplets of the cleaning solution to be
effective. The lateral
doors 132 can later be open with the blowers 510, 512 running until the
cleaning solution
evaporated. Other methods and approaches are possible.
FIG. 17 is a first longitudinal cross-sectional view of another example of a
system 100 for storing
and delivering food trays 160 based on the proposed concept. In this example,
the system 100
includes a food tray delivery cart 108 that does not have a heating/cooling
unit 106 on the
carriage 102. The air interconnections between the interior of the chambers
202, 204 and the
heating/cooling unit 106 are made instead through what is referred to
hereafter as a docking
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-30
42
station 350. The carriage 102 can then be smaller and lighter compared to that
of the system 100
of FIG. 1. The system 100 of FIG. 17 includes at least one food tray delivery
cart 108 and at least
one docking station 350 with a corresponding heating/cooling unit 106. The
number of food tray
delivery carts 108 and the number of docking stations 350, however, can be
different in some
implementations. For instance, the same food tray delivery cart 108 can be
docked with a first
docking station 350 at a first location, then moved to a second location where
it will be paired with
a second docking station 350. Pairing can be accomplished by positioning the
front side of the food
tray delivery cart 108 against a corresponding side of the docking station 350
so that the various
ports 210, 212, 214, 216 can be in direct fluid communication with
corresponding ports or features
located on the docking station 350. Other configurations are arrangements are
possible.
The docking station 350 shown in FIG. 17 includes a main outer casing 352
having a plurality of
vertically extending supporting legs 354 allowing the main casing 352 to be
positioned at a given
distance from the floor 380. The docking station 350 can be designed to remain
at the same location
most of the time, and only be repositioned if this is absolutely required. The
heating/cooling
unit 106 inside the main casing 352 can be powered using an electric power
outlet to which the
distal end of a power cord 356 is connected. The docking station 350 can
include a control
module 400, as shown. Still, the food tray delivery cart 108 can include both
a rear panel 122 and
a front panel 358. The front panel 358 can include openings or other features
to provide an airtight
connection with the ports on the docking station 350. Other configurations and
arrangements are
possible. Among other things, the docking station 350 can be designed and
shaped differently. The
heating/cooling unit 106 do not necessarily need to be present inside the main
casing 352, and can
be located elsewhere in some implementations. For instance, the docking
station 350 can only
provide the physical interface between the food tray delivery cart 108 and the
heating/cooling
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-30
43
unit 106 during the food storage mode and the food heat mode, and the
heating/cooling unit 106
does not necessarily need to be physically close to the corresponding docking
station 350. A single
or central heating/cooling unit 106 can be designed to work simultaneously
with two or more
docking stations 350. The control module 400 can be located elsewhere, and/or
can include or be
implemented using a plurality of submodules or other individual components,
for instance one or
more provided on the food tray delivery cart 108. Other variants are possible
as well.
It should be noted that the food tray delivery cart 108 and the docking
station 350 are illustrated
being slightly away from one another in FIG. 17, as well as in FIGS. 18 and
19. This is only for
the sake of illustration. When paired, they will engage one another with an
airtight connection. One
or more position sensors 360, 362 can be provided to monitor the position of
the food tray delivery
cart 108 and generate a signal when the front side of the food tray delivery
cart 108 engages the
corresponding side of the docking station 350, as shown in the illustrated
example. The position
sensors 360, 362 can cooperate with a locking arrangement provided to
releasably secure the food
tray delivery cart 108 to the docking station 350 in the docked position, as
also shown in the
illustrated example. This locking arrangement can include, for instance, a set
of
electromagnets 370. The system 100 can be designed to only activate the
heating/cooling unit 106
when the electromagnets 370 are in a fully locked position. Other
configurations are arrangements
are possible. Among other things, the position sensors 360, 362 and/or the set
of
electromagnets 370 can be designed or positioned differently. One or even both
of these features
can be replaced by something else, or be omitted in some implementations.
Other variants are
possible as well.
FIG. 18 is a second longitudinal cross-sectional view of the system 100 of
FIG. 17, taken from the
opposite side.
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-30
44
FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional plan view of the interior of the system 100 of
FIG. 17. It illustrates the
heating/cooling unit 106 of the system 100 of FIG. 17 being set in the food
storage mode as shown
in FIG. 15. Although not illustrated, the heating/cooling unit 106 of this
system 100 can also be set
in the food heating mode like in FIG. 16. Reference is made to the
explanations provided for
FIGS. 15 and 16.
FIG. 20 is a semi-schematic front isometric view of another example of a
system 100 for storing
and delivering food trays 160. Some of the components are omitted, and others
are semitransparent
for the sake of illustration. As can be seen, the system 100 in the example
includes both a
housing 104 and a heating/cooling unit 106 located over a bottom base panel
110 of a wheeled
carriage 102. This system 100, however, includes two lateral openings 130 that
are juxtaposed on
the same lateral side, the housing 104 extending longitudinally on the left
side of the food tray
delivery cart 108. The heating/cooling unit 106 extends longitudinally on the
right side thereof in
this example. There are two separate chambers 202, 204, and each chamber 202,
204 is divided
into hot and cold food products sections by a corresponding thermal barrier
140. The two
chambers 202, 204, however, are juxtaposed side-by-side instead of being back-
to-back, and the
partition wall 200 extends in the transversal axis 109 in the system 100 of
FIG. 20. The partition
wall 200 is thus parallel to the thermal barriers 140 in this example. Each
food products section of
the chambers 202, 204 corresponds to a stack of food trays 160 and its lateral
opening 130 can be
closed by a lateral door 132 (FIG. 21). The food trays 160 can be loaded
through both lateral
openings 130 with the same orientation, for instance with the hot food
products area 160A of each
food tray 160 to the left and the cold food products area 160B to the right.
Other configurations
and arrangements are possible. Among other things, the housing 104 and its
lateral openings 130
can be provided, for instance, on the right side of the system 100 in some
implementations. Both
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-30
45
lateral openings 130 can be closed using a single lateral door 132 instead of
two. Some systems 100
can be designed to receive more than two stacks of food trays 160, thus
include more than two
lateral openings side-by-side, particularly if the system 100 is designed for
smaller food trays.
Some implementations can be designed to receive food trays 160 of different
sizes, one stack being
.. configured for instance to receive a first set of food trays and another
stack being configured to
receive a second set of food trays having a different length and/or width than
that of the food trays
in the first set. Other variants are possible as well.
The food tray delivery cart 108 of FIG. 20 can be somewhat similar to that of
the system 100 of
FIG. 1, for instance having ground-engaging wheels 112, 114 and a handle 124
provided at the
back. Other configurations and arrangements are possible. Among other things,
the food tray
delivery cart 108 in the system 100 of FIG. 20 can be modified or otherwise
redesigned as
previously presented in the text concerning the other examples. This includes
having only the
housing 104 on the carriage 102, the heating/cooling unit 106 being, for
instance, provided in or
being otherwise accessed through a docking station or another arrangement.
Other variants are
possible as well.
The heating/cooling unit 106 is provided along the right side of the food tray
delivery cart 108 in
FIG. 20, thus along the back side of the housing 104 in this example. As
aforesaid, the housing 104
and its lateral openings 130 could be on the right and the heating/cooling
unit 106 on the left. The
heating/cooling unit 106 provides the hot and cold food products air circuits
206, 208 passing
through the corresponding food products sections. Other configurations and
arrangements are
possible.
FIG. 21 is a cross-sectional plan view of the interior of the system 100 of
FIG. 20, with the
system 100 being set in the food storage mode. The heating/cooling unit 106
and the associated air
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-30
46
passage arrangement are only semi-schematically depicted. The heating/cooling
unit 106 can
include components identical or similar to those presented in FIG. 15. The
operation of the
refrigeration device 500 and the associated components is essentially the same
and need not to be
repeated. Air is supplied and returns through corresponding ports provided at
the back of one of
.. the food products sections. Air flows independently along the air circuits
206, 208. Other
configurations and arrangements are possible. Among other things, the various
components of the
heating/cooling unit 106 and/or of the air passage arrangement, including the
air ports, can be
designed and/or be positioned differently in some implementations. The
heating/cooling unit 106
can also be set in a food heating mode, thus operate as shown in FIG. 16.
Other variants are possible
as well.
FIG. 22 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view taken along line 22-22 in FIG.
21. It shows semi-
schematically an example of the fluid communication between the air conduits.
Like the
systems 100 of the other examples, this system 100 can include four vertical
air ducts and each of
them can include a longitudinally extending internal separator wall creating
two separate air
.. conduits in which air flows substantially in opposite directions. The air
conduits located inside the
vertical air ducts that are positioned in the food products section away from
the air ports receive
and return air through corresponding horizontal air conduits. These separate
horizontal air conduits
can be created inside horizontal air ducts divided in two using a
longitudinally extending internal
separator wall and/or through separate air ducts or air passages. The air
passage arrangement is
designed so that air from each air circuit 206, 208 will enter the
corresponding air spaces over and
under the hot and cold food products areas 160A, 160B on the food trays 160
using air
apertures 166, 168 (shown in the other examples). As can be seen, the air
passage arrangement in
this example includes a combination of horizontal and vertical air ducts, like
in the other examples.
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-30
47
The panels at the back of each housing section can also be designed to open so
as to facilitate
cleaning. Other configurations and arrangements are possible. Among other
things, the design and
the position of the air passage arrangement can be different in some
implementations. Others may
even include two heating/cooling units, one for each chamber 202, 204, mounted
over the food tray
delivery cart 108. Some implementations can be made without having horizontal
and vertical air
ducts. For instance, one or more can be obliquely oriented, or be designed
completely differently.
Other variants are possible as well.
The present detailed description and the appended figures are meant to be
exemplary only, and a
skilled person will recognize that variants can be made in light of a review
of the present disclosure
without departing from the proposed concept. Among other things, and unless
otherwise explicitly
specified, none of the parts, elements, characteristics or features, or any
combination thereof,
should be interpreted as being necessarily essential to the invention simply
because of their
presence in one or more examples described, shown and/or suggested herein.
LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS
100 system
102 carriage
104 housing
106 heating/cooling unit
107 longitudinal axis
108 food tray delivery cart
109 transversal axis
110 bottom base panel
112 caster wheel
114 caster wheel
116 power cord
118 outer shell
120 top panel
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-30
48
122 rear panel
124 handle
130 lateral opening
132 lateral door
133 door catch
134 hinge
136 protective casing
138 door (of the protective casing)
140 thermal barrier
142 main support
144 U-shaped beam
146 blade member
148 sheath
149 cap
150 top member
152 bottom member
154 flexible sealing strip
160 food tray
160A hot food products area
160B cold food products area
160C demarcation line
160D transversal ridge
160E upper surface
160F loading/unloading direction
161 standpoint
162 support (of tray supporting arrangement)
164 air diffuser panel
166 incoming air aperture
168 outgoing air aperture
170 vertical double air duct
171 vertical double air duct
172 vertical double air duct
173 vertical double air duct
175 horizontal double air duct
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-30
49
176 horizontal double air duct
180 temperature and/or humidity sensors
200 partition wall
202 first chamber
202A hot food products section of the first chamber
202B cold food products section of the first chamber
204 second chamber
204A hot food products section of the second chamber
204B cold food products section of the second chamber
206 hot food products air circuit
208 cold food products air circuit
210 inlet port (of the hot food products air circuit)
212 outlet port (of the hot food products air circuit)
214 inlet port (of the cold food products air circuit)
216 outlet port (of the cold food products air circuit)
220 air distribution door
230 hinge (of the air distribution door)
240 vertical beam
242 vertical beam
244 vertical beam
250 locking device
260 bottom bracket
290 bottom surface
300 humidifier tray
302 outer peripheral wall
304 bottom wall
306 baffle (in the humidifier tray)
310 brake lever
312 brake cable
350 docking station
352 main outer casing (of docking station)
354 supporting leg
356 power cord
358 front panel
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-30
50
360 position sensor
362 position sensor
370 electromagnet
380 floor
400 control module
402 display screen
500 refrigeration device
502 compressor
504 condenser
506 expansion valve
508 evaporator
510 first blower
512 second blower
520 air heater
530 first air damper
532 second air damper
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-30
